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Nicole Kidman reveals she was ‘having a breakdown’ when she pulled out of hit movie

The Aussie star famously pulled out of 2002’s Panic Room after reportedly getting injured on-set, but now she’s revealed the full story.

Nicole Kidman admits last minute anxiety on THAT Vanity Fair cover

Nicole Kidman has revealed she was “having a breakdown” while shooting 2002’s Panic Room, with Jodie Foster stepping up to replace her.

“There’s this misconception that somehow female actresses are at each other, or they don’t like each other or whatever,” Foster, 61, told The Hollywood Reporter during a roundtable discussion with Kidman, Naomi Watts, Brie Larson, Jennifer Aniston, Anna Sawai and Sofía Vergara. “Like, Nicole, I took over a movie that you had to leave.”

Kidman responded: “Yes! And thank you. I was in a really bad way. I was like, ‘I’m having a breakdown.’ And Jodie took over, thank the Lord.”

The 2002 thriller followed Foster and a young Kristen Stewart, who played her daughter, as they are forced to hide inside the panic room of their New York apartment when intruders break in.

Actor Jodie Foster (r) with Kristen Stewart in scene from film "Panic Room". /Films/Titles/Panic/Room
Actor Jodie Foster (r) with Kristen Stewart in scene from film "Panic Room". /Films/Titles/Panic/Room

The Australian actress had started filming the movie but bowed out after she sustained a serious knee injury, which stemmed from her time filming 2001’s Moulin Rouge musical.

She didn’t elaborate in the Hollywood Reporter interview on the reason she felt she was having a “breakdown,” but it was around the same time her marriage to first husband Tom Cruise ended in 2001 after 11 years. She is now married to Aussie singer Keith Urban.

Earlier this year, she discussed the toll her divorce took on her even as her career hit new heights.

“I was struggling with things in my personal life, yet my professional life was going so well,” the 56-year-old told Dave Karger for his book 50 Oscar Nights, which came out in January. “That’s what happens, right?”

Nicole Kidman’s marriage to Tom Cruise broke down in 2001. Picture: Kevin Mazur Archive/WireImage
Nicole Kidman’s marriage to Tom Cruise broke down in 2001. Picture: Kevin Mazur Archive/WireImage
Kidman is now happily married to Keith Urban. Picture: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for The Mark Hotel
Kidman is now happily married to Keith Urban. Picture: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for The Mark Hotel

Kidman was explaining how she wasn’t able to enjoy her 2003 Oscar win for The Hours.

“So, I literally walked in [to the Vanity Fair party afterwards], carried it around, was completely overwhelmed, emotional, shaking and I didn’t enjoy it,” Kidman recalled. “I was almost apologetic, which is so stupid. I wish I could have enjoyed it more.”

Kidman and fellow Australian Watts also talked about their “40-year” friendship during the discussion, which the Big Little Lies actress noted “did not start in acting.”

“No, it started down at the pub,” Watts agreed.

Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts have been friends for 40 years. Picture: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for AFI
Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts have been friends for 40 years. Picture: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for AFI

Kidman elaborated on how certain roles can be difficult for her emotionally, mentioning she once threw a rock through a window at her house after a tough day on the set of Big Little Lies.

“I threw a rock because [the door] was locked, and I couldn’t get in,” she explained. “I’d never done that in my life. I obviously [had a lot] pent up. I broke the whole thing. It cost a fortune.

“And a lot of times, it’s six months of 12, 14-hour days, and there really isn’t the time to go, ‘I need to take care of myself.’”

She said she also had to take on a lighter role after taking on the grief-filled series Expats.

“After Expats, I went and did a comedy because I went crazy with my own psychology. I was like, ‘This is unhealthy,’” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “And it’s something that I think we need to talk about as actors — protecting your body so that you can live for as long as you are given on this earth. Because it’s very tough on the psyche.”

This story originally appeared on Fox News and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Nicole Kidman reveals she was ‘having a breakdown’ when she pulled out of hit movie

Original URL: https://www.themercury.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/nicole-kidman-reveals-she-was-having-a-breakdown-when-she-pulled-out-of-hit-movie/news-story/3d121559b3600ef06280d254382f73f5